Have you ever felt that you just didn’t have the heart for something that you knew you needed to do? Then something happened that gave you fresh inspiration and energy and you got it done?
Late one night, a man had gone to a party and had too much to drink, so he decided it would be best to walk home. He found a shortcut through a poorly lit cemetery and, in the pitch black darkness, stumbled into an open grave. He tried to climb out but the walls were too slippery. Again and again he fell back into the grave. Finally, in exhaustion, he settled in a corner to wait for sunlight.
Not long after that, another man in the same inebriated condition was cutting through the cemetery and fell into the same grave. He, too, tried desperately to climb and claw his way out, and he was equally unsuccessful.
As the second man was about to give up in hopeless resignation, he heard a voice from the darkness of the pit, "You may as well give up. You’ll never get out of here."
But he did!
I read a comment recently that was disturbing but I could not dispute his claim. “There is a reason why people accuse Christians of being hypocrites! Sometimes Christians are hypocrites” (Anonymous)
Gandhi once lamented, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
The disappointing truth is that all too often, those who profess to know Jesus as Savior and Lord may talk the talk but consistently fail to walk the walk. 
In I John 2:29, we read, “Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” Conversely, we could say, “Everyone who is born of HIM should be practicing righteousness!”  Do you sometimes feel like you need more practice when it comes to righteous living?
Doing what is right is not always easy. In fact, doing what is right often is like trying to swim upstream. The opposition of the world, the flesh and the devil is real.
Maybe what you need is some fresh motivation! Perhaps it is time to climb out of that pit you find yourself in. Most of us who claim the name of Christ should (and could) live more like Jesus.
When John considered his motivations for righteousness, he thought of the day when he would see Jesus. “Abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (I John 2:28)  
He understood that as a follower of Jesus, he would stand at the “judgment seat of Christ.” (Romans 14:10) As each day passed, John knew that he was one step closer to that inevitable day of reckoning. And John deeply desired to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)
Jesus promised, “I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3) Whether we see him at His Second Coming or as we travel the “valley of the shadow of death,” as Christians that meeting is inevitable.
If you knew that today would be the day that you meet Jesus, would it motivate you to live more righteously? One man started each day with this simple prayer, “Lord, keep me from doing anything today that would make me ashamed to meet You.”   Amen!